Masks and Leather Belts
by DoeFox
Summary: The school's Halloween Party is fast approaching, and Marinette's decided exactly what her costume will be. / Very mild oneshot, just a late little Halloween fic.


**Just a late little Halloween fic, I was too ill to post it earlier.  
I hope you guys like it. c:**

* * *

The invite had said clearly: costumes required. Alya's text had demanded even more clearly: _Ladybug and Chat Noir_.

"We're going together, and we're going as Ladybug and Chat Noir," she told Marinette decisively as she brought the right side of her hand down to hit her left palm. The text had gone through last night, and Marinette had spent the entire morning trying to convince her otherwise. "And that's final!"

"But-"

"No. Look, you can have first pick, if you want, but we're definitely going as those two. I'll even make Nino and Adrien match, wouldn't you like to see Adrien in a black leather suit?"

The thought made the dark haired girl blush.

It was an odd idea, really. Adrien? In a tight, black, leather, damn sexy superhero suit? Yes please. But, as Chat Noir? Her partner, one of her best friends? It was like asking Adrien to dress up as Alya. Or, she shuddered at the image, something like that anyways.

It was the same concept, at least.

"Fine, I guess it won't hurt anything."

"Yes! I knew you'd come around, Girl. So, I'm guessing you want to be Ladybug?"

Panic shot through her in a way that was possibly more painful than being struck by lightning. No way could she be ladybug, she'd be blown in an instant. Thankfully, Marinette could detect a small amount of disappointment in her friend's voice. By nature, Alya would always want to be Ladybug. "Nah, I'm more of a Chat Noir fan," she told her, wondering why the words sent her heart into a mild skip.

Even though she raised one eyebrow, Alya beamed and locked elbows with her. "Awesome. Hey, do you want to make my costume for me?"

And even though she rolled her eyes, Marinette smiled something fond and pulled their entwined arms closer by slipping her hand in her pocket.

* * *

"I am _not_ dressing up as Ladybug."

"Come on, Nino! Adrien needs to be Chat Noir," Alya persuaded, adding on in a stage whisper: "Think about Marinette!"

The group of four were in the Dupain-Cheng bakery, filling up on pastries after the test-filled school day. Nathalie, in a good mood, had allowed Adrien some free time in the place of his piano lessons because his instructor was ill. Not that his father needed to know, or anything. Marinette was in the back, pulling out some fresh rolls, while the other three were lounging at a small table by the window.

"I don't really want to be Chat Noir," Adrien spoke up lazily. He was sat hunched over the table, elbow propped up on the surface and chin in palm. He didn't notice the other two staring at him for a solid thirty seconds, during which time he was contemplating whether or not he'd actually be allowed to go to the party.

If he was, going as the feline-themed hero would be suicide. It was something he could recognize even in his half conscious state. It completely baffled his friends, though, as that would only leave one option.

"Are you telling me you want to go as Ladybug?" Alya asked, completely aghast.

His gaze trailed distractedly from the table to meet hers, and then he simply shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

Both Alya and Nino opened their mouths to say something, but weren't able to utter a syllable before Marinette came back out with a tray of warm rolls. Butter melted pleasantly from a small slit in the top of each, and the wonderful scent of bread wafted clearly in the room that already smelled of baked goods. "Hey guys, what did I miss?"

"Just discussing costumes," he best friend supplied, sending a curious glance back over to the blond in front of her. "Adrien wants to go dressed as Ladybug."

Wide blue eyes turned on the boy in question, and the mental image provided brought an intense heat to her face. "A-as Ladybug? Adrien as Ladybug? Adribug?"

With an amused smile, Adrien stood up and took a roll from Marinette's tray. "What's your costume, Marinette?"

It took her a moment to cut through the silence she'd put herself into from trying to avoid imaging just how wonderful Adrien would look in _her_ outfit before she managed to respond. "Oh, um. Chat Noir."

The bread between his lips fell unceremoniously to the floor, his fingers still poised in front of his gaping mouth as if the food was still there. While his eyes had gone wide immediately, it was a gradual process that his three friends watched as his cheeks began to heat up. None of them could quite place why (though Alya proceeded to assume what was partially the truth), but Marinette wasn't sure if she should be offended by the dropping of her roll or the fact that he seemed so traumatized by the prospect of her in a leather cat suit.

"Um, Adrien? You alright, man?"

"Huh? O-oh. Yeah, yeah I'm alright," he murmured, wincing and rubbing at the back of his neck. "Sorry for the mess, Marinette."

He watched as her eyes drifted back and forth between him and the soiled bread, and he could tell that she wasn't really sure what to think. "It's alright," she said at last. "I made extras," she trailed off, unsure. Maybe he dropped it because he didn't want one, she reasoned, despite the glaring fact that it was a ridiculous method to make the fact known. And, of course, Adrien was far too nice for that.

"That'd be great, thanks," he said, kneeling down with a napkin to clean the buttery mess he'd made. When he stood again, he gestured with the ruined bread and she pointed silently in the direction of the trash bin. "So if you're going as Chat Noir, and I'm Ladybug, I guess that makes us partners, huh?"

Marinette blinked, placing her tray on the table. "I guess so," she murmured, taking a bite of bread to distract herself. It was an odd scenario that she'd managed to get herself into. It was difficult to sort into a coherent thought, and the concepts just kind of bounced around her mind as solid chunks of ideas as opposed to actual, translatable messages. She was going as Chat, who was her partner, and Adrien was dressing up as her dressed self's partner, who was her.

It was all quite baffling, really, even if the rendering seemed rather dull.

"So," Alya spoke up when the quiet became too boring for her. "I've decided to try my hand at making my own costume for this."

"Oh, that's great Alya! If you ever need any pointers, I'd be glad to help," Marinette offered with an excited smile. To say that watching the creative horizons of her friends' expanding enlightened her was an understatement, especially when it had something to do with an interest of her own. She was a goner for personal improvement.

"Thanks, Mari. So, how's everybody else getting their costume together?"

Nino, who was in the middle of slyly reaching for his third roll, felt eyes on him and pretended to be reaching instead for a napkin. "I was probably just going to go to a costume store and adjust it to my liking," he shrugged, playing through and dabbing at his mouth with the brown paper. "What about you, Adrien?"

"Oh, me? I don't know. Normally I'd go to my father for some help from his people, but... I don't think that'll fly for this," he explained with a spread of his hands. "I don't know, I guess I'll just wing it."

Marinette had to refrain herself from jumping at the idea that immediately planted itself in her brain. After all, eager was hardly a good look. So, after a deliberate count to five, she tentatively spoke

up, wringing her fingers. "I- well, if you wanted me to, I could make your costume, Adrien."

Under the intense gaze of his gorgeous green eyes, Marinette could do nothing to help the churning of butterflies in her stomach. "That's really awesome of you Marinette, thanks," he told her, paired with as sincere a smile as was humanly possible. She simply melted.

Like the butter dribbling from her roll onto her fingers as she held it, too preoccupied to even think about eating it. "A-ah, y-yeah. No problem. I'll just need to take your measurements-"

It was almost programmed, the way he rattled off the numbers. Not that the fact surprised her, or anything, in fact the strongest reaction was probably the disappointment at not being able to measure him herself. Or, you know. The truth that was Adrien being a robotic product of his modeling career.

"Oh, um. Cool. Thanks. That saves... time."

* * *

"You're not Ladybug."

"No. I'm not."

Marinette pursed her lips, tapping her right index finger on her chin and cocking her hips to lounge against the door frame. In front of her stood the ironic costume of Lady Wifi, as donned by Alya. "Why not?"

"Well, if Adrien's Ladybug, then I guess he's your partner. Now isn't he?"

"I mean..." It was that morning, approximately ten hours ago now that it was nearing seven p.m., that Marinette had passed by Adrien's house to drop off his costume. A surprise payment included an opportunity to design in the next of his photo-shoots. Normally she'd decline payment when it's a favor for a friend (especially that blond one in particular), but it was something she couldn't pass. And it warmed her that he knew just how to pay her.

"Now come on, Chat! We're gonna be late," Alya encouraged, pulling her friend from the doorway. "Nice costume by the way."

"Thanks."

Marinette had taken the time to assemble both costumes she did with material almost identical to those of the heroes' actual uniforms. Every detail was transcribed to the outfit with immaculate precision, down to every last ladybug spot.

She enjoyed having a tail more than she thought she would.

However, the process made her wonder about how the real Chat Noir would react seeing her in his outfit. She knew that just the idea of seeing Adrien in hers made her gut twist in the most pleasurable pain, but it was different with him. Adrien was her stalker level crush, and while she and Chat her run into each other a few more times since the whole episode with Nathanael, she found it very highly doubtful that this scenario would affect him nearly as much as her. Not that she wanted it to.

To distract herself, she toyed with her pigtails and made sure her cat ears were in place. Once they got to the school, where the party was hosted, she saw that she and Adrien were not the only ones to dress as the heroic duo.

"Wow, less Ladybugs and Chats than I expected," Alya murmured offhandedly. Marinette turned her head and blinked at her. There were enough beetles to form a swarm here, all with the customary black cat counterpart.

This was the makings of a meme.

"Oh look, there's _your_ Lady."

It was strange how a million verses of Chat Noir's typical 'M'Lady' swam through her head at that. They all dissipated when she followed Alya's pointing finger, though, and her jaw dropped. Which was pathetic, really. Nobody dropped their jaws except in crappy movies. Behind her black mask, her eyes widened to the point they started to sting, and she suddenly felt particularly faint. There, next to the Alya-Copycat that was Nino in a Bubbler suit, was Adrien. In _her_ suit, and man did it make a nice picture. She could have it framed on her wall, really.

In fact...

Before she could pull out her phone to take a 'discreet' photo, the two boys began to make their way over. "Hey Marinette, thanks for the suit. It fits great," he praised with a blush and shy smile. She couldn't particularly decipher why, but she supposed it didn't really matter when his costume spread deliciously across his chest and shoulders and arms and abdomen and lordy, his eyes in that mask. It was like Christmas. "I love your costume."

She blinked, glancing down at herself before meeting his gaze again to find his eyes flitting over her leather-clad form. "Thank you," she managed. "He- oh," she cut off, having gone to talk to Alya only to find that she and The Bubbler had slid off and left her alone with Adrien. How supportive. "They're gone," she pointed out uselessly, flapping one hand about awkwardly as if it would further the concept.

"Looks like it," he concurred, nodding and bouncing on his toes. "Um."

"Yeah."

She licked her lower lip out of a bizarre mix of anxiety and boredom, and she glanced up at him just in time to see that it was in the direction of his gaze. She blushed, and looked right back at the ground. God, she felt helpless. They stood there at the edge of the dance floor, avoiding swings from errant limbs and mostly each others' line of sight. Eventually Adrien shifted, a movement that she noticed but didn't actually register.

"You uh, you want to go and... dance?"

There was a suspicious green stain on the floor that she'd become particularly captivated by, to the point she nearly missed his question. She whipped her head up to look at him, and didn't really notice how long she just stood there staring at him until he started to fidget. "Y-u-uh, yeah. Yes, of course."

He smile beautifully and held his hand out, pausing when she gripped it before leading her out among the throng of dancing students. The soundtrack was a bunch of popular covers of typical Halloween songs, and even though Marinette didn't know exactly how to dance to this sort of thing, she figured she looked ridiculous enough around Adrien every day that her clumsiness now wouldn't make that much of a difference.

She almost hit him in the face twice, only one time of which he actually noticed. And he just laughed, grabbed her hands, and guided her through the song. Through the combined layers of two gloves, the contact gave her both the warmth of a winter's fire and shock of electricity. How and why she didn't care, because he was right in front of her and she wouldn't waste a minute of it over analyzing.

* * *

 **I probably won't continue it, unless you guys give me some ideas for another chapter.  
As it is, I have no idea what I'd do.**

 **Thank you for reading, and for any favorites or reviews! :3**


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